Telephone recorder



June 20, 1950 Filed Oct. 23, 1947 L. A. MlCHELlNl TELEPHONE RECORDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7b Ems/Ne MACHINE A UTOMA T/c CEN TEAL EXCHA NGE l N VEN TOR.

LEO A. M/GH'EL/NI ATTORNEY June 20, 1950 L. A. MECHELINI TELEPHONE RECORDER Filed Oct. 23, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 it; Ji

INVENTOR. LEO A. M/GHEL/N/ A 7' TORNEY Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED STAT OFFIICE.

' g 2,511,865- p I TELEPHONE RE'GGRDER Leo. A. Micholini, sani FrancisconCallfassignm of one-third to Luigi Sbnana and; one-third; to

Domenic Sciarra; both of-San Francisco,, Calif..

dcpplication ctober-23, 194 7, semi-arm. 781L661; 7- Glainise (01. 1:z9 5.5=)-

The invention, in general, relates tothee message sending and. recording art as applied. to telephone. systems, and: more particularlyrelates- U05 an. improved. system and apparatus f or 'efientmg the ready transmission and recordation of a' message between a multiplicity oi telephone suh' scrihers stations, all. in: a. relatively simple way and; relatively simple equipment.

Heretofore, asis perhaps vrellknown, there hasbeen. some: developmentofi apparatus-sand; systems: for enabling the. recordation. 01B telephone-numbars, as Well as other indioia at'atelephone suba scribers station. Most. of. these prior types of systems: either are commercially prohibit-inclinecause. of theexpensive installations and. appreciahleechanges required, whilerothersv are. not .praciticahle because ofthe necessity of. modifying: or: altering or existingtelephonic. eqmpmentin; or;- den to complete. the adaptation-.. The presentnm ventionnis' directed to. the provision; of teiephonic recorder apparatus and; system which; ohviate's' the; above mentioned disadvantagesas well" as}, in. herentdifficulties of such. prior systems;

v A. primary object-of my'inv-entionis: to provide an improvedtelephone recorder for adaptation to any existing; telephone system employing: an automatic central exchange, without necessitat ing any changes whatsoever in the basic existing telephone equipment.

, Another important object of the. present.- in ventionis to" provide. an improved: telephone. recorder of. the indicated; nature which is additionally characterized by' its flexibility in:v that it is readily adaptableto not only local butalso to long distance or cross-country calls;

a A still further object of the invention-isfto pro-- videan'improved telephone recorder of theaforementioned character which. can be economically installed and which requires little, any mainy tenance expense. d

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a.- preferred embodiment-of the invention which. is; i1.- lustrated. in the accompanying drawings. It isto. beunderstood. that'I. am not to be. limited to the precise embodiment shown, nor to the precise. arrangement of the various partsthereof asrm-yr invention, as defined in the appended claims, can be. embodied in a plurality and variety of forms.

Referring to the drawings; 7

Figs. 1 and 2, taken together, are diagrammatic views of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In its preferred. form, the improved. telephone recorder of my present-invention. preferably comprises means establishing, an. alternating current 2 circuit. and a direct current circuit,- means for alternately .andzreoumently energizing said alternating currentcircuitxand then.said di' neot current cirmiitg. a recorder. circuit; said re cordon circuit.- being: adapted tohe: superimposed one saictrdirectz current circuit, recorder apparatus inesaidmecorder circuit, togetherwithiamovable recorder circuit: closingcontact,- means for ad-= vancing said contact successively'to its ultimate li-JIIit: of nrovementtoieifect the: ultimaterclosing: of. said. recorder: circuit; a relay for; holding. saint contact at.- its; "circuit. closing. position for. a prey-- determined. interval ofztime tapermitoperatiom on SHidl recorder: apparatus and means iorapa plying 3i series oi: inmul'ses omsaid. recordervcire cuit to effect recordation of a dialednumbenion said: recorder apparatus, as welt. as: meams i'or breaking; said recorder: circuit at the completion: of-a message;. and: meansrfor' interrupting. and: disconnecting said. recorder circuit during-re cording; operations toestablish a voicecircuit.

Theqqresenl; invention constitutes an improvementupon my previous: invention on the same subject for which Letters;Patent No.. 2220:9 10; was granted-tome onNovember 12, 1940a.

As- ;iilustrated in the annexed: drawings depictingmyimprcvedtelephone: recorder in: diagram-g matic viewpihis proposedto adapt my apparatus. and system, to: any existing. telephone systememployingganautomatic; centralexchange H), i ndicated m. block by dotted Iines-in-the. lower. right (if-Fig. ,While any number of subscribers telea phones may heconnected; with centralexchange [0,]; have illustratedithemvention with: respect to. but two subscribers telephone stations for purposes ofihrevity and; simplicity of explana-, tion,..-such.statiens; being designated by the ref; erence numerals l land i2 in F-igs" 1 and. 2-, respectively,., of. the: annexedwdrawingsr As is. custom-arm, each subscriber's telephone willbe pro, vided with standard dial mechanism l3; atrans, mitter. |.4,.a receiver l5,.-andwca11.bells [6. Similar reference, numerals, except using the prime thereof-,-. have been employediwith respecttolsubscribers telephone station l2 in Fig. 2. Inade dition. to the: equipment mentioned above, each. subscribers telephone. station; will. be. provided with. arprint'ing, device il see Fig. 2, of the: cone ventional. type-and which, .per se, is not my ine vention butL-i's shown indiagrammati-ctview as a part of. the combination herein. described.andclaimed. V f A Inasmuch asthepresent improvementdoes not. require. any changes. whatsoever in. the. existing; telephone diah systems, such. as panel, cross bairn Strowger automatic. equipment, etc, 'etc.,,a't. thel automatic central exchange, .it' islbeli'evedlthat. an

ploying dial mechanism l3. As illustrated in the annexed drawings, the circuits established on direct party to party calls between stations II and I2 will be through the automatic central exchange In over lines 2| and 22, andfrom the central exchange over conductors 23 and 24 through call bells |6' of station l2,v see 'Fig. 2.

Should it occur that the subscriber at station 2 and back to the grounded side of the ringing apparatus. This last traced circuit is the circuit which causes the bells I6 to ring while the ringing machine is supplying alternating current through the ringing circuit, and to remain silent while direct current is being supplied by the ringing machine.

The arrangements of circuits just described are in combination with selector switch mecha- 5| includes a movable'arm 52 which is caused is at home and answer, the receiver l5 will be removed from its hook to establish the voice or speaking. circuit through transmitter l4 of stationl2, receiver l5 of station transmitter I4 of station, H, and receiver l5 of station |2.

Under-existing types of telephone circuits and equipment, the bells l6 at station t2 would continueto ring, if no one answers at station l2, until the receiver I5 at .station II is replaced on its hook to break the voice or speaking circuit and cause the equipment at the central exchange to re-assume its initial position. Naturally, an incompleted call would, in many instances, lose revenue for the telephone company and certainly would be an annoyance and inconvenience to a subscriber who may have to attempt to call time and again until the called party is reached.

-In' accordance with the present invention, means are provided forobviating the necessity for a subscriber to make repeated calls to the subscribers station with whom he desires to speak, and these means include a recorder device at each subscribers station for recording the numbers of the calling partiesat the station of the'calledparties whereby the called parties are notified that one or more calls, of which the numbers are indicated, have been attempting to reach them, while absent from home. To this end, I provide several circuits of which at least two are to alternately cause alternating current and direct current to flow through the bell ringing circuit, and include in such circuits equipment for causing the bells to ring during the supply of alternating current and to remain silent during'the supply of direct current. The purpose of supplying these two different currents through the ringing circuit is to permit the establishment of the voice or talking circuit in the event the partyat the called station should answer either when the call bells are ringing or when they are silent at the time any call is being put through.

With reference to the drawings, the above mentioned circuits that supply alternately first alternating'current and then direct current through the ringing circuitmay be traced at the central exchange l0 beginning with line 3|, through relay 32, conductor 33 to the normally open contact of' relay 34,'thence from the relay 34 contact through line 36, all in Fig. 1, through conductor 31 and relay 38 to ground, and back to the grounded sideof the ringing machine, see'arrow 39 in the block diagram ll] of Fig. 1 indicating the exchange. Itis to be understood that the relay l3 automatically closes upon the closing of the ringing circuit. Simultaneously, the same ringingcurrent will also flow through conductor 4|, condenser 42, call bells l6 at station |2 to ground to advance, on each ringing of call bells l6,

step by step from a base or home position 53 to an ultimate or relay closing position 54, see Fig. 2. The selector switch arm 52 is caused to advance step by step by the energization of the relay 38 until the arm reaches station or position 54 and when this occurs, on the next flow of direct current from the ringing machine, the current will flow through conductor 56, choke coil 5'I, through selector switch mechanism 5| and relay 58' to ground, and back to the grounded side of the ringing machine. The energization of relay 58 will effect the closing of switch 59 and, almost simultaneously, the energization of release relay 60 thereby causing the switch selector arm 52 to return to its home or initial position 5|.

It is to be especially observed that due to the high impedance of call bells l6, the values of the alternating and direct current supplied by the ringing machine are relatively low so that relay 32 remains inoperative. However, upon the establishment of the circuit containing relay 58, and since such relay has a low impedance, currents of relatively high value will flow through relay 32 thus energizing the same and effect the operation of its contacts, not shown, which in turn will cause relay 34 to become de-energized as is well known to those skilled in the art of automatic telephony. It also is to be observed that upon the energization of relay 58, both switches 59 and are closed, and that upon de-energization of relay 34 of the contacts 6| and 62 in the central exchange circuit will be closed, thereby impressing the central exchange battery voltage across conductors 23 and 24, the former being connected to line 63 and the latter to conductor 4|. Hence, when the switch 65 closes due to the action of relay 58, as above mentioned, the current supplied by the central battery will flow through line 23, line 63, switch 65, a choke coil 64, a relay 66, conductor 4| and conductor 24, line 36 and contact 6| back to the negative terminal of the central battery. Upon energization of relay 66, it in turn efiects the closing of switch 61 thereby electrically interlocking the printing device I! into the system. During the period that the bells l6 are being rung at station l2, part of the ringing current is also being transmitted to station II in the usual manner. With the cessation of the ringing at station I2, the party at station II is informed that the recorder device is awaiting operation.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided in connection with the in-' terlocked recorder for superimposing a pulsating direct current voltage across lines 4| and 63 on the existing direct current already being supplied by the central exchange battery. The pul-' amines such subscribers ow-n te1epnnies1rmter, 'the or irrl-ijulses being h'diitively transmitted Efoss a set of repeating 00115 68 providd'at the central exchange [0. The pulsating current indu'ced will flow from point 69 of the repeat'ed coils through contact 62, conductors '23 and 63, switch 61, see i Fig. Z, Which had previously been closed 'as-abovestated, through a con'de'nser H, a pii-lse-receiving relay 12, *acondnser l3, and ncnductors 4 I and 24 back to th'efpoint 6B 'of the repeating *coils 68. The establishment of this cii' cuitwx'rill cause relay T2 to energize a'nd d'eenergize in accordance with the impulses dialed By "the su-bs'criber at stanen H. lih additional eircliit for the printingdevice includes the contacts 1 4, 16 6f the relay l2, a iine- 'l'l fror n one ter-"minal of the printing device H "to theuoper Contact "of "relay 1-2, a conductor T8 fr'tiin tti'e Coil" fit 'I'I ftYiIOIlgh a choke coil 19, a lirie 80 from entire-@1119 to a relay 8|, together with a'l'irie 82 from relay 8! to a conductor 83 back to line #3; --'Also, a recorder circuit is provided-from lowercontact T6 of relay 12 through aline 6, 'a cli'cke coilel, a line 88 from choke coil 81 to a relay 89, thence through a line 90 -to=conductor da -ans back to line '63.

ln' a'ddition to the above circuits, I provide a circuit-"containing a relay 9|, which is in parallel-with relay 8| and'which, when energized 'so that its normally open contact 9 3 closes, co'nditions' a circuit including arelay 92 and containing the conductor 11-, upper and lower contaots 93 a'nd94 respectively, of relay 92, a line 95":fromtherela'y 9'2, and theconductors 83 and 83. Upper contact 93 of relay 92, whenclosed, ifctsfthe establishment of a circuit containing aline '96 leading from relay 92 to a switch contact arm 91 of a selector switch 98 of the recorder device H, which latter includes a bank of *friagnets *99. Lower contact 94 of "relay "92, when closed'establishes a circuit containing a line 'llll from such 'contact to a switch I02, thencetoa'relay H13, a relay I04 inparallel with rela'y fllii, and a conductor Hi5 leading to the contacts-"or relay "l2. It may be sta'tedher'ethat energiz'ation of 'magne'ts'99 will effect the actuation of a pivoted type arm, notshdwh, over which is automatically fed an ink ribbon and paper tape, also not shown, in "acco'rd'anc'sefwith conventional recorder "mechanisms. Moreover, the ener izaticn or relay lll3'will effect the re- Ias'eof switch arm '9'! of the selector switch 98 from its "most advanced position and allow the a'irin'to return to its initial or'base position and, at the same time, relay Ill-1 will advance the inked ribbon and paper 'tape of the recorder mechanism one step to condition the printing device for the reception of another digit and series of digits.

"In explanation of the recording process, let it be assumed that the subscriber at station ll hascoinmence'd'the "dialing of his number and has initially dialed the digit 5. By virtue of the circuits above described, as relay 12 becomes energized and its contacts 14 and it close, difeet c'urrentiurnished by the central exchange battery will flow from line 11, see Fig 2, upper contact M of relay 12, through line 18, choke coil 19, and line 80 to relay BI and thence from screws! over line 82 and line 83 to conductors $3' 'andi23 back to the exchange At "the same time, some current will-alsofiow from lower "contact lt ofrelay 12 through-line 83 choke coil 81 conductor 88 to-relaytfi, from the renew, bverv 'llines -90 and 33 hank lines '63 scans to thei iiclia'rrge. opcnenergizaticii of relay'ilkits'contact w l -op'en and, since-relay 8 of the slng'gish type and will not release im I'nediately, its "contact will remain open until the iast'impuse -0f-a dialed se'ries nf-impulses is made. Relay 9l, being in parallel with relay 8l,-W-ill becdme-energized-at the same'time as relay '81 causing therelay 9| to close its normally open contact thereby completing a circuit for relay '92-a'nd traceable as follows: line H to the contact 6f'rel ay'9l through relay 92 andlines95, 93 and 63. 'Relay '9l is of the "same type as rela-y th i. e., sluggish on' rel'ea'se and will, therefore, rei n'ain energized until the last of a series of im'puls'es has been sent. With relay 92 energized its n per contact 93will become closed-to complet the eirc-i iit to switch ar'm 91 as above stated, Since it'already'has been assumed tha't the digit-5 has been 'dialed, then relay receives five ihipiilses to-open and close its contacts "five tiln'e'san'cl, byso 'doing, causing relay '89, which influences selector switch arm 97, to energize and dc-energize five times thus causing switch arm- 91 toadvance'fivenotch'es or-"ste'ps to say the position III which is connected to a line I' l-2 leading to one oithe magnets 99' of the bankkif magnets 99. flA split second after the fifth and last 1 impulse hasb'eensent,-relay 8l will deene'r gi'ze to close its contact-so that a current will flowfrom'iihe 4| through line 11, mag-net 99"; line 1 I 2," switch arm 91, conductor 96, -tlfl1rong1 l upper contact 93 o'f "relay 92, t0w'ires 9-5, stand 63 back through line-2 3 to the central-exchange battery. 'nponenergization of the-magnet QHfa pivot typearrmcarr'ying the numeral 5, 'will'be actuated'an'd strike a platen'over which the inked ribbon is fed to'recoi'd the 'digitE-o'n -the 'tap'ej-a's above indicated.

Before proceeding to the remaining "digits of the subscriber's telephone number at station, it 'm'alybe observed that contact switch M2 is normally open and'reinains open as long 'as s'elector switch arm91 of switch 98 is in the base or initial position. As soon as switch arm 91 'moves away fromits base position, however; the switch or contact 1'02 closes. It also is to be noted that relay 9| is slightly moresluggishin its operation-thanrel'ay "8i so that its contact remains closedsufiiciently long to allow the rime ing-p'rocessof the recorder device to take place. Upon de-energization of relay 9!, its contact opens causing relay 92 to ole-energize whereby the contacts 93and '9A resume their initial or original ositions-as indicated in "Fig. "2- of the drawings. When this'occurs, the-circuit containing relays 1 93 and H1 4 is'establiShed fromcontactM' of reiay "9'2 through line Hill, and effects the return ois witch arm 9'I "of the selector switch 98 to its base'or initialpositioh.

The succeeding dialing operations by the subsciiberat s'tation I [will 'cansethe selector switch armercf the'selector-swit'ch '98 to assume differ-- ent" advanced "positions with respect to its base or'iri 1positionc'aiising energization of first one andthenanother of the magnets of the bank of m'ag'nets 99. "O'r,inother words, therepititionof the steps and" energization of the circuitsand relays as 'abovedesc'ribed in connection with -the dialing O'f the digit 5. Wh'en the last digit has been di'ailed, the subscriber at station ll merely retilrnsthe receiver 1'5 to'its hook causing-the operat on er the standard relays, switches etc, etc. o'f the automatic telephone exchanges, and thereby removing the central batteries from we teiepnbneinvoived, namem-at station-H and -l2.

The removal of current supplyfrom station 12 causes the de-energization of rela 66 which, in turn, opens switch contacts 61 to completely remove the recorder unit I! from the system. The usual relays, switches, etc., etc., of the conventional automatic telephone exchange, mentioned above, have been omitted from the drawings, since such equipment is familiar to those skilled in the artof telephony.

Turning to the possible contingency that the subscriber at station I2 might answer the telephone while the recording device is in operation and before the completion thereof. In' such event, the printing device will automatically be disconnected from the system and the voice circuit established, due to the provision of an auxiliary circuit which includes the hook switch I I6 of receiver I5 at station I2, see Fig. 2, a line 'I I! from the dial mechanism I3 at station I2, a line II8 from switch II6 to an induction coil II9, a line I2I from the induction coil to receiver I5, a short line from the receiver I5 to the dial mechanism I3, a conductor I23 from the dial mechanism to a relay I2I, relay contact I28, and a line I 29 from contact I28 to conductor 4| which leads to the central battery over line 24. The energization of relay I2! will open contact I28 thereof thereby opening the circuit for r lay 66 which, in turn, will open contact 61 to disconnect the printing device I I from the system. This energization of the relay I27 is effected when the receiver hook switch H6 is closed by picking up receiver I5. It is to be noted that relay I 2! also functions as an auxiliary release device for the switch arm 91 of selector switch 98 in the event that the switch arm 91 is at some position other than its base position at the time the party at station I2 answers the phone and interrupts the recorder mechanism, and acts to return the switch arm 91 to its base position.

The above described system, it is clear, is applicable to a multiplicity of subscribers telephone stations by the installation of the printing device H at each station, together with the circuits described which do not interfer with normal circuits of existing automatic telephone exchanges, employing dial phones.

It is to be understood that the appended claims are to be accorded a rang of equivalents commensurate in scope with the advance made over the prior art.

I claim:

1. A telephone recorder for recording a. plurality of dialed telephone numbers, said recorder comprising, in combination with an automatic dial telephone system, an alternating current cir cuit, a direct current circuit, a talking circuit, means for alternately and recurrently energizing said first named circuits to effect ringing of call bells in said circuits and to cause said bells to remain silent, a printing device, a printer electrical circuit containing said device, means electrically interlocking said printer circuit into said alternating current, direct current and talking cir-' cuits, a movable arm in said printer device, means whereby said arm may be advanced in successive steps until a printer closing position is reached, and means for impressing impulses on said first named circuits and for supplying a pulsating direct current in said talking circuit while interlocked with said printer circuit and during predetermined time intervals after the printer circuit is closed to actuat said recorder device and to effect printing of a dialed telephone number. ,2, telephone recorder for recording a, plu

rality o1" dialedtelephone numbers, said recorder, comprising, in combination with an automatic dial telephone system, an electrical circuit, call bells in said circuit, means for setting up alter: nately and recurrently an alternating current and a direct current flow in said electrical circuit-to cutmeans in and cut means out said bells,,a printing device, a printer electrical circuit con: taining said device, a selector switch in said device and electrically connected into said printer circuit, means for interlocking said electrical circuits at a predetermined moment, a movable S87 lector arm connected to said selector switch; means whereby said movabl arm may be moved step by step in response to impulses impressed on said circuits, and means for applying a series of impulses to said circuits corresponding to a telephone subscriber's telephone number who do; sires to be called by the party dialed thus eifecte ing th printing of such number in said printing device.

3. A telephone recorder as defined in claim 1,- and including means for interrupting and disconnecting said printer circuit from the systemdur ing operation of said printer device.

4. A telephone recorder as defined in claim 2; and including means in said printer circuit for returning said movable selector switch arm to; its initial position upon the completion of the print-- ing of each dialed number and digit thereof.

5. A telephone recorder as defined in claim 2, and including means in said circuits for return-,- ing said movable selector arm to its initial posi; tion whenever the printer electrical circuit disconnected.

6. In a telephone recorder for recording a plu-, rality of dialed telephone numbers, an electrical circuit, a printer electrical circuit, a printer de-I vice, a selector switch in said printer device electrically connected into said printer circuit, means for interlocking said electrical circuit and said printer circuit at a predetermined moment, a movabl selector arm connected to said selector switch, and means whereby said arm may be moved step by step in response to impulses'im'i pressed on said circuits until a printer closing' po-i sitionisreached.

7. In a telephone recorder for recording a plu rality of dialed telephone numbers, an alternating current circuit, a direct current circuit, a talk ing circuit, a printer device, a printer electrical circuit containing said printer device, a movable arm in said printer device, means whereby said arm may be moved in successive steps until a printer closing position is reached, and means for impressing impulses on said first named circuits, and for supplying a pulsating direct cur rent in said talking circuit during predetermined time intervals after the printer circuit is closed to actuate said printer device, and to cordation of a dialed telephone number.

LEO A. MICHELINI.

eifect re-' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file of this patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date a. 

